"Have under your thumb" nghĩa là gì?

“Have (someone) under one’s thumb” = có ai dưới ngón cái của mình -> nghĩa là khống chế/điều khiển ai.

Ví dụ

Fans were stunned, as were haters. Was Sheeran – renown for obsessively checking his sales figures every morning – just greedy, cashing in on every trending genre in the charts? Was he after fanbases and cultures he didn’t yet have under his thumb? Or was he, by creating a rare bridge between US rap titans and UK homegrown talent (tài năng trong nước), mixing sounds like cake batter, making a big, fat industry statement?

“What that essentially goes to is costs spent in this matter, for investigative purposes, for response times, things of that nature,” said Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Mike Yacovone. Instead of pressing for up to 20 years in prison for the 27 counts against him, prosecutors recommended just the year behind bars. “I’d rather have him under your thumb with 20 years over his head, and that’s for five years community control,” Yacovone said.

“Your honor, the state is making this recommendation after much deliberation between myself and (assistant Prosecutor Kevin) Day,” Yacovone told the judge. “He’s got 20 years over his head. The way I thought … was I would rather you have him under your thumb, 20 years over his head, for five years of (probation) plus three if he would seek to have this expunged (đã xóa tên).

Bài trước: “Groan under the weight of” nghĩa là gì?